"By the mid-1840s, dresses with sloped shoulders, tight bodices
with fitted sleeves, and fuller skirts mirrored the similarly
constricting social norms of the early Victorian woman. Bodices often
included rows of pleat extending over the shoulder to the waist in a
pronounced V-shape that pointed to the wide, cartridge-pleated skirt."

Friday, March 23, 2012

I have been thinking about how the pleats at the shoulders are handled with this dress and have two options. Like the dress below, I could add a separate pleated bertha and attach it the the shoulder and center front seams.

Or I the piece is darted at the waist and pleated into the shoulder seam, as illustrated below.

Personally, I am leaning towards the bertha because I have so many fan front dressed with gathering and pleating at the front waist, that this would be an opportunity to have a darted front dress with a nice tight fit around the waist and added volume to the top (where I need it the most).